In the manufacture of internal combustion engines, it is common practice to conduct engine testing at the end of the production line to identify and correct engine defects. Most commonly used is the so-called hot engine testing in which the engine is subjected to dynamic testing in which the engine is operated with or without load. It is also known to conduct cold engine testing on the production line wherein the crankshaft of the engine is rotated by an auxiliary motor instead of operating the engine under its own power.
There are certain advantages to cold engine testing but heretofore, such testing has not been useful in identifying certain types of engine defects.
A general object of this invention is to provide an improved method and system for cold engine testing which overcomes certain disadvantages of the prior art.